1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to autoclavable medical instruments. More specifically, it relates to making autoclavable medical instruments readily identifiable.
2. Prior Art
Autoclavable medical instruments have typically been manufactured entirely from stainless steel or another metal substantially non-degradable in body fluids. As such, all instruments of a particular type look exactly the same. Thus, it has not been possible to effectively segregate the instruments by department, or even by medical facility. Further, it is difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish personally-owned medical instruments belonging to various staff workers in any given medical facility from those owned by the facility or any other staff member.
This difficulty leads to increased loss and theft which escalate medical costs since cost of theft and loss is inherently absorbed into the overhead of any medical facility. More importantly, inability to segregate by ward increases a risk of transmission of infectious diseases because instruments may inadvertently be moved from an infectious ward to a non-infectious ward and through error, adequate sterilization procedures may not have been performed. If the instruments were, at a glance, identifiable with a specific ward or facility, the incidence of loss, theft, and infectious disease transmission could be easily reduced.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a way to make such medical instruments readily recognizable while retaining their autoclavable nature. Further, the instrument must remain substantially non-degradable under the normal conditions in which the instrument is used.